Earth Equity News

The Loss of a Powerful Congressional Voice for Taxing Carbon. By Charles Komanoff, The Carbon Tax Center, April 16, 2008. "The carbon tax camp lost a powerful Congressional voice yesterday when Rep. John Dingell announced he was taking 'off the table' the hybrid carbon tax proposal he floated last fall... The irony, as visitors to this Web site know, is that a revenue-neutral carbon tax would not act as a drag on economic activity, since the return of the tax revenues to Americans via tax-shifting or dividend rebates would offset the higher costs of fuels and energy. Indeed, the progressive impact on incomes would make for healthier economic growth, as wealth flowed from the rich to the middle class and the poor. Moreover, the phase-in would ensure that any bite from a carbon tax would largely coincide with the next upturn in the economic cycle. Similarly, in a 2007 report strongly supporting a U.S. carbon tax, the conservative American Enterprise Institute pointed to the 'double dividend' in which 'a carbon tax can be paired with a reduction in other taxes in a manner that improves the overall efficiency of the economy'... The announcement from Dingell leaves New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and former Vice-President Al Gore as the two most prominent U.S. supporters of a carbon tax. Bloomberg, who earlier this month was defeated in his effort to enact a congestion fee to drive into the Manhattan Central Business District, last spoke publicly for a federal carbon tax in December. Gore continually advocates for revenue-neutral carbon taxing in his public appearances, most recently last month, saying, 'Here's the solution. We need a CO₂ tax, revenue-neutral, to replace taxation on employment, which was invented by Bismarck -- and some things have changed since the 19th Century.'" Charles Komanoff is a cofounder of the Carbon Tax Center.